It Will Rain
by Anbu-chan
Summary: Sakura finds herself in the midst of New York City with no choice but to keep fighting on. Some days, all you can do is let it rain.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: this is another guilty pleasure of mine that I've been itching to share. I hope you all enjoy it! I do not own Naruto.

* * *

The world is black, and then all of a sudden, the air escapes her with a silent scream. The wind hurts her face and Sakura watches as the world blurs in her peripheral, the ground rushing to meet her.

She twists mid-air, looking for some sort of leverage. There are tall structures she assumes are buildings but they are foreign to her. There is the ground, what she assumes is the ground but it is black and it's approaching fast, she has to find some way to stop her fall or she'll _die, I can't die yet, no, Naruto _needs _me and what will Sai do, you have to _focus _Sakura!_—when she hits something _hard_ and her body crumples, her air stolen from her once again.

This time, she audibly screams, because whatever she is on, is made of some hard surface that ripples and caves and it is moving like it's alive— _oh my god, it _is _alive and it's breathing— _and it is still high in the air. She had grown up with Hashirama trees, she isn't afraid of flying, not when she has Sai, but this place is strange and she doesn't have her teammate to fall back into. A tall, humanoid creature appears from over the edge of it, and Sakura is horrified. A face made of bone and grinning menacingly greets her. Whatever it is, she recognises it as a threat. Sending a punch it's way, she watches as it flies off, and nearly gets knocked over when the creature she is riding smashes into one of the buildings nearby.

Taking her opportunity to escape, she jumps and clings to the side of the stone building, finally able to observe the world around her. Leaning out with two feet and one hand planted firmly on the reinforced steel, dodging pieces of debris, she can look.

It is unfamiliar, alien. People she assumes are civilians are screaming, running on like ants on the ground and there is a hole in the sky, a pocket into another dimension she assumes, and more creatures spilling out with each second.

She remembers Madara and his flashing red eyes, and then the sensation of falling. With growing dread, she takes another good look at the sky. She has a feeling whatever hit she took meant for Kakashi landed her somewhere far, _far_ away.

The building shakes as the foundation begins to give, and from inside Sakura hears screams. Turning and looking into the glass windows, she is met with the terrified faces of three civilians in foreign clothes. She makes a split decision, one that should've been simple, after all she has no obligations here, and smashes the glass.

Rushing in, she goes to demand answers to her questions, when she is met with garbled speech. _I can't understand. _

That puts a whole new layer of dread in her, and it must show on her face.

"_I don't understand you, I am sorry. But I am here to help." _

Using her body as the universal language, she holds a hand out to them. Pointing, she motions three, and holds out her hand. A blonde woman nods and reaches out to her immediately, yelping when Sakura lifts her in one arm. The other two, another woman and man, are quickly lifted off the ground. She turns back to the window and ignores their cries of alarm, launching off the building with precise motions. They land safely on the roof of another building only to lift off again, this time landing on the ground. Placing them down gently, she smiles when it seems they thank her. She waves them off, tugging them on the direction she sees other civilians running.

"_Go, be safe." _

She observes the strange metal contraptions people are sitting in as they whiz by, and she jumps out of the way of one, only to come face to face with three more of those creatures. They snarl at her, towering over her petite frame and she lets out a battle cry, quickly dispatching them.

Green catches her attention from the corner of her eye and she notices quickly that a very large man, two times the size of Chōji, is roaring and smashing those humanoid creatures. Right behind him is a man who is dressed in blue and red, and another wielding some hammer. Realizing they are this world's shinobi, she rushes after them despite the danger.

She left one war so abruptly only to be tossed into another one, and what else is she to do but fight? After all, a small voice whispers to her, _it's what Naruto would do,_ and she is the fiercest kunoichi in the Shinobi Nations.

* * *

Natasha notices her first. It's almost hard not to— she has rosy pink hair and is dressed in strange red clothing and white armor. She looks like she's ma cosplayer, not a warrior but her kick sends two Chitauri to the floor in a heap, unlikely to get back up.

"Hawkeye, who is that?"

There is a pause, where her partner notices, too.

"I don't know." There's a grunt from him as he fights off three aliens, twisting his body around to shoot down two aliens, restrings his bow and takes out another in the span of mere seconds.

"She appears to be on our side," she comments, wrangling two aliens in her grasp, knocking the heads of another pair together. Letting out a huff, she said, "Keep an eye out, but we can use all the help we can get."

Clint nods and takes out more of the Chitauri with his arrows.

"Come again?" Says Tony from somewhere high up in the air.

"Foreign soldier with pink hair, not with S.H.I.E.L.D. but doesn't seem to be a threat. Looks like she has a mean right hook," Hawkeye says almost blandly, and Tony seems to think for a moment.

There's a flash of pink to their left and they look momentarily, where cherry blossom petals have begun to float in the air around her. She makes a weird sign with her hands and before their very eyes, the beautiful petals burst into flames, taking out a dozen Chitauri with them in a blazing inferno.

"Well, shit," Clint said, unhelpfully.

"You know what, given today, I shouldn't be surprised. _Pink_ hair. Perfect, the more the merrier," said Stark, either unaware or uncaring of the trick the foreign woman just pulled.

Clint reaches behind his back for more arrows, and realizes there are none. "Shit," he growls this time, thrusting his bow at an oncoming Chitauri. There are too many for him to fend off the distance he is at, given how close he has to get to fight them.

"_Shannarō!" _A feminine voice cries, and three Chitauri are thrown off their feet in front of him by the same woman who is now wielding a war hammer almost as big as her. Clint lets out a relieved sigh, one he didn't even know he was holding.

"_Take these." _

He is taken aback by her voice. It is high and melodic, but it is a language he has never heard of. Despite that, he understands what it is she tries to tell him, as she holds out wicked looking knives to him, handle-forward. Pleasantly surprised, he grunts out a "thank you," before they are twirling away from one another, a deadly dance once more.

"It's time to regroup!" Shouts the Captain, and Clint quickly grabs the girl's arm when she doesn't notice them retreating.

"What are you doing?" Whispers Natasha to him.

"Don't bother, she can't understand us anyway. She should come, she _is _fighting with us."

She is a stranger, yes, but there is something about her that Clint can't place yet, and it seems safe. Safety is what they all need when aliens are pouring out of the sky and everything is uncertain. Natasha, on the other hand is still skeptical.

She follows for a moment, before something catches her eyes. She lets out a sound, catching his attention, and motions to a civilian crouched on the sidewalk. She tells him something and Clint takes it as a dismissal, before he turns back around.

"So that is the warrior you spoke of," says Thor, watching the woman who cradles a young man nearly twice her size in her arms, dashing around the corner and out of sight. Barton nods and the group refocuses on the task at hand.

"We have to do something to close that portal!"

* * *

Tony can't breathe. The suit is no longer working, and the voice of JARVIS is not there to comfort him. He floats in space as the hole ahead of him closes foot by foot, and he prays, _he prays to anyone out there, _that he will make it out alive. He sees a flash of blue, the clear blue sky before he closes his eyes and falls.

The Hulk catches him and places him on the ground. He is still while everyone crowds around him, and for a moment, everyone is afraid. And then his mask comes up, Tony blinking the haze away from his open eyes. He sees the grey of the buildings and smoke, before something —or someone— obscures it.

Impossibly bright green eyes look down at him, as she lays a glowing hand on his now exposed chest. He is too tired to protest, rather he stares at her dirt covered face as if she is all he can see and the other Avengers don't seem worried. A warm feeling overcomes him as Cap says, "We won."

The first thing he says is, "Great, we won. Let's not come in tomorrow, we'll take the day off… I want shawarma. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it."

That admission has everyone relieved, because Tony will be Tony, and he seems relatively normal and unscathed, comparatively. They all chuckle, knowing he is dead serious.

Thor smiles. "There is still much to be done yet."

And they have shawarma. There is a lull the day of the attack; the citizens don't know when to return to the city and start rebuilding their lives, but that quickly goes away. The world can no longer deny the presence of the new group called the Avengers, and they struggle at first to get away, with all the news anchors hounding them for answers, and many, many people approaching the pink haired woman with tearing eyes and watery admissions of gratitude. Bruce calms down and Thor handles Loki, who seems to have had all the energy drained out of him, especially after a beating courtesy of the Hulk. Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. take control of the rest.

And they sit, silent in the restaurant, as a worker diligently mops the floor in the back of the store. Steve looks over at the stranger with pink hair as she holds the food in her hands, sitting next to Bruce and Clint, looking utterly lost. It's an expression that resonates with him, strangely enough, especially after being encased in ice for 70 years. She has not spoken a word to them yet.

It is quiet when she says something, something Tony is sure none of them can understand. And then, she begins to cry. Bruce, the closest to her, is alarmed, looking at everyone around the table.

"Aww, hey there, it's okay, cheer up," he tries, placing comforting hands on her shoulders and she leans into him, crying quietly.

"Where did you pick her up, Clint?" Asks Tony.

The man in question shrugs. "She appeared suddenly and started fighting, that's all I know."

Thor attempts to use his All-Speak, but it doesn't work. "She appeared during the fight, you say?"

Clint nods again, looking at the girl who has sagged into a very bewildered and slightly uncomfortable Bruce.

"Perhaps Loki's invasion weakened the barriers between worlds. There are nine realms and many worlds between. There is the chance she could be from any of them."

Tony, casting curious eyes her way, says, "Well, it looks like we'll be having one more guest."

* * *

A/N: Tell me your thoughts. Do you love it? Hate it? Leave a review and share!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The AMOUNT of LOVE this story has received in so little time! I didn't think I'd get a fourth of this response! 20 REVIEWS! Each and every one of you have reminded me why I write on this website. Many, MANY thanks to: Kosmas, laraferreira, Guest, LePengwen, sakuraHU0328, BlackOps56, TheAbsoluteBest, lauriedahl, Guest, First Lady of tha West, lightreader1, nekomichi, CherryTheRose, alxxman, Kum301, Luna401, LeonaMasha, Guest and Guest! Because of all of you, and everyone who favorited/followed, I decided to make this into more than a one-shot. I hooe you all enjoy this, because this is a learning experience for me as well!

I don't own Naruto, the MCU, and all characters/plots involved. Enjoy!

* * *

"What are we gonna do about you, sunshine?" Asks Tony, directing the question more to his companion rather than the woman with pink hair in the room. He still can't believe it. A pink haired girl fell from the sky. _I guess it could be weirder, considering who we are and what we just went through..._

"We still don't know her name?" Questions Cap, trailing behind him, serious as ever.

Banner and Sakura look up from the papers they're hunched over, and the scientist takes off his glasses.

"I haven't managed to get a word out of her, but whoever she is, Tony, she's brilliant."

He gets up and shows them a page covered in seemingly random numbers.

"It's a learning curve with letters, but she immediately knew what to do with numbers after I showed her the basics."

"Huh," says Tony, taking the paper from his friends hands. The numbers begin to pop out at him, startling him as he realizes what exactly it is he's looking at.

"This is…"

"Yeah," agrees Banner, looking over at the woman sitting at the table, twirling a pen in her hand. She blinks at them, looking a bit confused.

"So, what is it?" Cap interjects, clapping his hands and tilting his head. Tony passes the paper over.

"That, Capsicle, is some advanced physics. Quantum, actually..." he says, letting the sentence fall away as he looked at her, as she looks out at the grey city skyline out the window.

He takes off his dark, tinted glasses and stares out at the scenery behind the glass, too.

"Rain got you down, sunshine?"

She looked up at him, having recognized the nickname at the very least. It had been raining rather heavily since the invasion, but he chalked it up to the fact that a literal hole had been ripped in the sky, probably disrupting natural weather patterns. After all, it is May, and should be sunny. She had been staring out at the city, a contemplative look on her face that seemed almost sad, and he could definitely say he didn't like it.

"Yeah," he says. "The weather's really shitty, it shouldn't be like this," he gestured to the window, where raindrops roll down the glass. "Maybe we'll take you to California, once we get your paperwork all settled."

"Is S.H.I.E.L.D. taking care of that?" Bruce is curious to know the fate of the young woman he is beginning to befriend.

Tony lets out a huff of air. "We can't hide her. She saved countless of lives in the invasion. She's practically as famous as we are," he says, ruffling her hair. She bats his hand away half-heartedly, smiling and shaking her head.

He laughs, and Bruce and Steve smile at the girl. Tony motions for her to follow him, and she gets up, shuffling her papers together and holding her pen in hand. She bows briefly to Bruce, who blinks in shock, and stands next to the tall playboy.

"Come on," he calls, placing his sunglasses in his pocket. "Let's show you my new suit I'm working on. You can even meet Dummy, I think you'll like him. We don't need the sun when we've got your smile," Tony tells her, looking down at her and meeting her gaze. She smiles back at him, and it feels like the room is brighter.

* * *

Two weeks after the invasion, she sits with Thor, watching Loki, who is confined in his cell and glowering at the glass, appearing for all intents and purposes, completely unruffled. It is then that she speaks, after so much silence.

"You are familiar."

Thor is startled, and even Loki snaps to attention, watching her with eyes eerily similar to hers. She has done this with Thor many times and not once has she spoken; instead letting the blonde man attempt to do the talking and watching him fail every time. She is observing the black haired man, leaning into Thor. There is a look on her face that speaks of an urgent sense of what seems to be misplaced fondness and deep grief and it makes Thor almost uncomfortable in the rawness of her expression. Loki's face does not change, but his shuffling lets him know his brother feels the same way. The blonde Asgardian shifts to get a better view of her, and she turns to him.

"Like looking in a mirror," she says, the words heavy with accent. "A circle that does not end. I know this story very well; maybe that's why I am here."

She returns to her position against Thor, who watches the top of her head in utter confusion, before looking at his brother. Loki has locked eyes with she and she stares back, unafraid.

Thor does not understand this strange woman, but he lets her burrow into him regardless, sighing as she keeps his side warm. "You are strange, little one, but brave indeed."

* * *

A/N: hmm, what ever could Sakura be talking about? Do you know? Better yet, do I know? Tell me your thoughts, your reviews are MUCH appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Guys, you're killing me in the BEST way! ALL THE LOVE. 22 reviews in the less than a month, I am beyond floored and so ecstatic! A HUGE thanks to: Roxycall18, Guest, anlgluiyeen, alxxman, Suzululu4moe, Guest, Guest, Guest, Kosmas, Luna401, Guest, sakuraHU0328, alice, CherryTheRose, nekomichi, TheAbsoluteBest, rednoxia, Guest, hobifam, ansegiel, dragongirl92, and ChubbyBunnE for all your reviews! You are the absolute best!

Ding! Ding! to those who guessed correctly! From their coloring to interactions, Thor and Loki remind Sakura an awful lot of her own boys back home. It will make future interactions veeery interesting. Unfortunately, because this story was originally written as a drabble, the chapters will remain short, so please do not complain about the length. As for pairings, well, we'll see, won't we? Enjoy this chapter! I do not own the MCU, Marvel, or Naruto.

* * *

"Buttercup! Look what I've got," shouts Tony, walking into the training facilities. Sakura is there, hitting a punching bag with quick jabs. Turning to look at him, she pushes her hair back with bandaged hands and wipes the sweat off her brow.

"What?" She says to him, nodding to Clint who is also training. He nods at her and reaches out, ruffling her hair. She just grins and walks over to Tony, fixing her bangs that had been mussed.

He hands her a manila envelope as they begin walking.

"What's this?" She asks, squinting at the paper. She flips over to a little book and opens it. Her face is there, along with her name. _Sakura Haruno._

"These are documents that will allow you to stay here in the United States. S.H.I.E.L.D. took care of the paperwork for us, now all you have to do is lay low, at least for now. The Invasion is still pretty fresh."

She nods. "It's not like I have any place to go besides here."

Tony almost winces at that, because he knows how badly she wants to go outside, how she itches for it. She's not particularly good at hiding her expressions, and he's always been good at reading most people.

"Tell you what, Buttercup. We'll get you out there exploring, although I don't know if you'll like it much. New York is called the Concrete Jungle for a reason. You just need to have one of us with you, okay? I'll try and clear some space up with Pepper, I'm sure she'll understand…" he trails off, mumbling into his knuckles.

"Buttercup?" She asks, changing the subject. She knows full well that the man next to her will fulfill his promise and she is patient.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, Buttercup. You know." From the look on her face, she does not know, and Tony forgets sometimes that she is from an entire planet, with how well she has acclimated.

"Butter. Condensed animal fat in a cup?" She asks him, beginning to look very confused.

Tony laughs. "No, Sakura, it's a flower. It's yellow and kids like to play this game, put it up to their chins and whatnot, something about the color reflecting on their skin means liking butter."

Sakura wrinkles her nose and sticks her tongue out. "I do not think I would like butter by itself."

Tony shakes his head. "No, you probably wouldn't. JARVIS?"

Sakura is still looking confused, and startles into a crouch when his AI speaks.

"Yessir?"

"You have a ghost!" Sakura cries. That causes Tony to guffaw loudly. _Ghost?_ He hasn't heard that one before.

"I assure you, Miss Sakura, that I am no ghost. I am an artificial intelligence that Mr. Stark has invented for various purposes. I have no corporeal form."

Sakura rises from her defensive position, a wary look on her face, and Tony doesn't mention how quick she was to stand in front of him when he had no armor on in the face of supposed danger.

"Play that song for us, please?" He knows he doesn't have to specify which one, sure that JARVIS had been listening and knew what he was talking about. The sound of guitar chords, an upbeat piano and drums fills the living room that they were now occupying.

"Ohhh, why do you build me up! Build me up! Buttercup, baby just to let me down?" Tony sings along to the lead singer, knowing he is not very good but still attempting nonetheless, and Sakura has an amazed look on her expression.

"This is your music?"

Tony nods, beginning to dance in place. "You've never heard of The Foundations?" Of course she hadn't, but it was still fun to tease her.

She laughs loudly. "We have music but nothing like this!"

"I need you!" Tony points to the pink haired woman, continuing, "More than anyone, darlin', you know I have from the start."

Sakura shrieks in delight and starts dancing. It's not like any movement he's seen on Earth, but he takes it in stride and dances along with her.

"Build me up, Buttercup, don't break my heart!" He sings, grabbing her hand and twirling around.

When the music is done and the two of them are still shimmying to an unheard tune, Sakura turns to him and says in a breathless laugh, "That was the best song I've ever heard!"

He takes his glasses off his head and slips them onto her face, as she smiles at him in that dizzying way. "Believe me, there's a lot more music in this world than just that one song, there's Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the whole lot!"

Sakura clutches the papers to her chest, strands of her pink hair coming loose from her high bun. She hums the song, and Tony can't explain the fondness in his chest at the clear sound.

* * *

She is unafraid of Bruce. In fact, she is the only one besides Tony who is entirely unafraid of him and Banner has to wonder, because Stark is slightly off the deep end. Why, Bruce is unsure, but he accepts it as it is quickly. Sakura watches as he works in the medical lab in the Tower every few days, staying a far enough distance away from his work, but never where she cannot see what it is he's doing.

After knowing her only in silence, she is suddenly talking and asks him anything and everything under the sun. Her words are slow and careful, punctuated by an unusual accent, much like the Asgardians. The scientist is quick to deduce that not only is the woman is brilliant, as she was forming comprehensible, even complex sentences after only a few short weeks of being immersed in the language and culture, she is a genius in her own right. She tackles each task he gives her and completes it happily. Bruce doesn't mind answering any question she has, aware that this is how she is learning of this world.

One day, she tells him something that few before dared to say.

"You have a duality to you, sensei."

He looks up, alarmed. Does she mean the Other Guy?

She observes him with a tilt of her head, pink hair spilling down her shoulder. "I can sense it. It is you— but not you at the same time."

Bruce is quiet, and returns his eyes to his work, doing his best to remain calm.

"I know someone much like you. Some hated him for it, but most of us knew the truth and loved him anyway," she says flippantly, as though this is a matter-of-fact statement, as though she is not contradicting all he has known.

"What?" He whispers, eyes glued to her.

She grins, showing off her dimples, and it is kind. "We are all broken in some way, so why does it matter? It is part of you, and you are you, sensei. Nothing takes away from that, no matter the beast in your belly."

Bruce stares at her for a moment, wrapping his head around her off phrasing. It is strange, but he understands the sentiment. He looks at her as if she is other-worldly, which he remembers belatedly that she is, wishing he had been recording that so he could listen to it for the rest of his life.

"Thank you," he tells her, and it is the most sincere thing he has ever said in his life.

* * *

A/N: Soooo, what do you think? Leave some love, please! If you have any suggestions, I am willing to hear them!

Anbu-chan


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: where is the LOOOOOVE? It's right here, thanks to all you guys! Thank you to: Fido123a, rednoxia, Ciel0714, sakuraHU0328, nayuta, Luna401, Guest, RimK10, Gederika, dragongirl92, writegood, hobifam, BlackOps56, felinewolf, Guest, Guest, Guest, nekomichi, LeonaMasha, hemlock, Guest, Archangel Writings, burrblefish, WinchesterCherryBlossom for the AMAZING feedback! I love hearing what you all have to say, and it makes me eager to update!

I do not own Naruto or Marvel/MCU. Enjoy!

* * *

"You seem a bit old for reading glasses," Sakura says as she walks in, tearing off those black gloves she seems so fond of.

Steve looks up. "You'd be surprised by how old I actually am."

She scrutinizes him with those intense eyes, and Steve does his best not to fidget.

"And how old are you, then?"

"Well over seventy years old."

"Well," she sighed, grabbing a glass of water. "You'll have to share your secret with me. I want to look like that when I'm going on 70 years."

He shakes his head, smiling at the indirect compliment he just received. Putting a bookmark in on the page he is reading, he closes the book. "I was frozen in ice for a long time, when I woke up I ended up here. Everything was different. New technology, no familiar faces, even the regular haunts I loved to spend time in Brooklyn, all gone."

Sakura stops what she is doing to listen, and understands his plight immediately. "I see," she says and Steve wonders what she sees as she stares at him. "So this is a new world for you, too."

And she sits down with him, opening the pouch he has never seen her without. Delicately, almost sacredly, she shows him a book of photos no bigger than three by two inches and he blinks in surprise.

The Polaroid size photos are better quality than he imagined, filled with many unique, colorful people. She flips to one picture, where five people sit at a picnic in tall grass, shaded by a leafy tree. There she is in the middle, head tilt back and mouth stretched wide in laughter to the sky, surrounded by her loved ones, and she brushes her thumb across the picture in apparent longing.

"I left my world in the middle of a war. I don't know what has happened to them. What if my boys need me? I don't know if I'll ever be able to get back, to grow old with them."

"Wow, Sakura," says Captain, because he isn't sure what to say. The world he can see from the the photos looks so drastically different, a large village she calls home, filled with so much green, and he is beyond sure that she misses it, because he knows he does. He can hear it so plainly in her voice, the threat of tears never too far away as she looks at the smiling faces in the photos. And he doesn't know what to say, because she has opened up to him inexplicably, unsure as to why.

She stares at the photo a little while longer before carefully closing the book and tucking it away. Shaking her head, she says, "There is nothing that can be done. I am glad I have this left of them, at least."

Steve looks at the raw look on her face, and pulls out his own relic for her to look at. Peggy's face looks back at him, as youthful as ever. She places a hand on his shoulder and they don't say anything for a minute.

"She is beautiful," she tells him after a brief moment of silence. He nods in agreement. "She is."

* * *

Thor!" Cries Sakura, running into the room, a wide grin nearly splitting her face. Thor looks up, a pop tart in his hand, and the newspaper in another.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"It's beautiful out! Let's go flying," She says to him, sitting on the arm of his chair. He moves to accommodate her, placing his poptart and newspaper on the coffee table, wrapping an arm around her waist and looking up at her.

"How do you know that I can fly?"

"Tony said you can?"

Tony, who is making a quick breakfast at the counter in a navy suit and tie, has the decency to look sheepish at the look Thor sends him. "I did no such thing!" He pipes up. When Sakura glances over at him, the look disappears completely. "Princess, that was supposed to be a secret."

She rolls her eyes. "As if anything you say is a secret."

He wags his finger at her. "Ah-ah attitude! Watch it, Cherry Bomb, and behave. Point Break, if you take her with you, don't drop her." With that, Tony leaves, talking into his cellphone, over his slightly burnt toast. "Yes, Pepper I'll be right there, yes, Happy is driving—, now, has anyone heard of the most recent attack?"

Sakura furrows her brows at Iron Man, who has just left, making a mental note to figure out what he had been talking about. "So?" She turns back around and asks him, and Thor frowns. "I do not know, little one. It is not very safe."

Sakura rolls her eyes again, and Thor wonders where the quiet girl he remembers and this sassy woman met in the middle. "Come on, now, I promise I'm stronger than I look."

Those words are heavy with promise, and while Thor is dubious, he knows when he is losing a fight. Jane taught him well in that aspect.

"Very well then, we shall go flying."

"Yatta!" She cheered. "Let's go somewhere green, I haven't seen plants in too long."

Thor follows as the pink haired spritely woman bounces up the stairs to the roof. The skies are a dreary grey and the air is cool, but there is a bright look on her face. "It may rain, little one," he informs her, but she just grins up at him and Thor doesn't have it in him to say no.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" She asks him when he stands there awkwardly, unaware that he doesn't know just how to hold her safely. With Jane, he has confidence. But Sakura is built like the flowers in his mother's garden, despite her bubbly attitude. He takes too long, apparently, because Sakura is making a running start off the building and Thor's heart lodges itself in his throat permanently- "Sakura!"

She leaps over the edge with laughter in her chest, and Thor zooms down to reach her. The breath leaves her as she is caught jarringly, her eyes sparkling and wide with adrenaline.

"You will be the death of me," he tells her, and she just looks up at him innocently. In another bold move, she wriggles out of his arms and he drops her and has to reach out and catch her again. About to scold her, he stops at the sight of her wide grin and blown pupils and decides to shake his head.

The wind blows through their hair and Thor flies them beyond the city limits, where the urban sprawl begins to fade and make way for green, rolling hills. She sits quietly, looking down at the world in wonder, and Thor steals glances at the woman enraptured with nature, smiling fondly.

"Are you not cold?" He asks after a long beat of silence, and she just burrows deeper into the fabric of his shirt, shaking her head and unable to look away from the scenery.

"This world is so different from mine," she breathes, and Thor can't help but agree with Sakura. Earth has it's charm, but he misses home from time to time, and knows the pink haired woman must feel the same way.

"Why do you like to fly?" He says, and she looks up at him, finally. "Why do you like to fly?" She turns the question back at him and says, "Part of it is the freedom, the literal seperation from the ground and responsibilities, but Sai always used to take us flying. It reminds me of him."

The two say nothing the rest of the trip, as they calmly fly back home to the tower. Thor sets her down gently, and gets a brief hug in gratitude. He waves her off as she disappears into the tower, and promises himself he will not see sadness in those familiar green eyes again, even if it means using Mjolnir for purposes other than fighting.

* * *

The Avengers Initiative is what Nick Fury calls it, and Sakura is curious. "This is what you got after New York, no? Your team."

Fury nods and pushes the papers to her. She picks them up and scrutinized them.

"And what does this have to do with me?" She questions him, unsure as to where the conversation is going. "You have what you want."

Fury raises his eyebrow and gives her a pointed look. "I want you, Haruno, on this team. We need you."

Sakura sighs and looks out at the New York City skyline, thinking long and hard. After a few minutes of careful thoughts, Sakura shakes her head and pushes the envelope back.

"No."

Fury blinks, almost as if he wasn't expecting her answer. "No?" He repeats.

She nods. "No. This world does not need me when it has enough heroes to save it. I will not join this team as a fighter, but maybe as a healer…" She trails off, and now Fury is truly surprised.

"A healer?"

"No one is invincible."

"Fair enough. So what do you propose?"

"Going with the team to areas of conflict. Healing them and civilians. No one will have to worry, I know how to defend myself."

Nick Fury smiles and it is a grim thing. They shake hands. "Alright then, Haruno. It's a done deal. Welcome to the Avengers."

She returns the smile. "No going back now."

* * *

A/N: hehe, its officialllll! Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you!

Anbu-chan


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm back and scrambling to post this before I go to NYC, hopefully that will give me some inspiration to write this more! Thank you all so much to: Guest, LeonaMasha, Fido123a, angelic94, Guest, LoveandWinning, xoulblade, LePengwen, nekomichi, Guest, HChannah378, PJMenthusiast, KateKat1992, Shion Lee, Guest, Guest, and nessiesmith2012 for all the reviews and love! I know some of you are confused about Sakura's place in the Avengers, but I promise you, it will make sense. Now, onto the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! I don't own the MCU or Naruto.

* * *

Sakura is eating a rice ball in front of Loki's cell, like she does most Mondays and Thursdays. That's how Loki knows what day of the week it is, and has some semblance of understanding of the days passing him by. She is so utterly casual and it infuriates him.

"You should be afraid of me."

She is sitting in front of his cell, knowing this might be one of the last times she gets to catch a glimpse of the Trickster God, before the Asgardians whisk him away to a world where she cannot follow. She cocks her head.

"Why should I?"

And she wonders, because she can feel him, she knows he is sad. He is sad and hurting and looking at him feels jagged but she can't help but be drawn to the curve of his face and wonder what those lips would look like to smile.

The brunette scoffs condescendingly. "Perhaps because I attempted world domination just a short few weeks ago?"

Sakura shrugs. "We all have hobbies."

Loki shakes his head, and Sakura wonders if the corners of his mouth lift in derision, or amusement. She likes to think it's the latter.

Loki stalks to the edge of his cage, nearly pressed up against the glass, his face twisted in a scowl. He presses his hand against the cold surface, and from his fingers, frost begins to spread. He turns a deep blue, lines in a lighter shade criss-crossing his skin while his irises and sclera glow crimson red. In this form, with the angular ridges on his face, he looks particularly somber. He whispers to her, "Everyone else fears me, so why shouldn't you? I am the monster that parents tell their children about. I am different."

What he doesn't know is that Naruto has taught her to love and she is unafraid. Rather, she is allured by his otherworldly looks, —she's always been a sucker for pretty faces and she will take that secret to the grave before the other Avengers find out, _especially _Tony— so she won't tell him that. She takes steady strides to meet him and places her hand against the glass, where his rests on the other side. Her other one hovers as if to touch his face, but she can't.

"So?" She asks. "Maybe we are different, but in the end, we all bleed."

She puts her other hand on the glass and looks up at the impossibly tall God. She knows Thor loves him. She doesn't know why he's different from his brother or what exactly he is, but he is Loki just the same, and that is enough for her. And as the blue and the cold recedes, Loki letting his Asgardian magic hide his true heritage, his carefully crafted mask cracks for a moment. He is surprised and it leaves him vulnerable to an old, fluttering feeling in his chest, one he thought had died out quite some time ago.

And Thor, who went unnoticed in the background during the exchange, tucks himself out of sight and against a wall, pressing fingers to his eyes. Thor dares to hope.

* * *

Sakura lets out a soft sigh, staring down at the picturebook in her hands. In it is all the memories she holds close to her, and it's what she stares at every night, falling asleep to familiar faces in a foreign world.

Her fingers hesitantly touch the picture she is looking at, and she dreams of going back.

To late nights at Ichiraku with Naruto, who is grinning over his sixth bowl of ramen, four more to go, she's only at one bowl, the cicadas chirping loudly.

She flips the page. To early mornings and tea with Sai, who has a paintbrush in his hand and is finally getting a hang of smiling genuinely.

Another page turn, and she dreams of Kakashi, who is sitting on her sofa, face exposed for her apartment walls to see and never to tell, reading and Pakkun is on his lap, the rest of the pack on the floor.

Of cozy nights cuddled up to Yamato, sharing scary stories over the campfire to a terrified Naruto. To gossip at the stand that sells her favorite tempura with Ino, cloud watching with Shikamaru, late nights doing paperwork with Tsunade-Shishō, picking flowers with Hinata, creating new poisons with Shizune-nee, _her life_. Her life before the war, before everything went to hell and didn't return.

She misses them more every day she is away, and the ache in her chest does not relent. She feels it with every deep breath she takes.

But even so, she now knows of rambunctious, always ridiculous Tony, always ready to make her laugh. Steve, who understands her and what she is going through. Thor, with his lasting patience and his larger than life presence, to Banner and his hesitant smiles that melt her heart. Natasha, with her cautious acceptance and Clint, who could be her uncle with the way he messes her hair each time she walks past him. Even Loki, who has a certain hope to him, that things can always get better, with time and care.

And with that, Sakura dreams of her birth world at night, and with each passing day, realizes this new world is slowly but surely becoming hers, too. And she knows that it is all thanks to the people in the tower that reaches high into the sky.

* * *

It rains when Thor returns from Asgard, a few short months after bringing Loki back to face his punishment. Sakura sits at the top of Stark Towers in hopes to catch the Thunder God somewhere in the lightning. When he lands with a whirl of his hammer, Sakura greets him with a smile. He begins to return it before he notices the soaked state of her clothes and hair.

"Sakura, little one, have you been waiting for me this whole time?"

Sakura smiles at him, and says, "Maybe, maybe not. It's a beautiful day for flying."

Thor walks over to her, his magic stopping the rain from hitting them. "You will get a cold," he scolds, and she rolls her eyes.

"How is he?" She asks instead, trying to fend off the god's surprisingly mother-hen tendencies. She wonders if some of it had to do with her size. She knows she was small, but Thor towered over her.

His eyebrows knit together. "All will be well," he assures her, and she believes him. The two come in from the roof of the building, JARVIS giving them clearance to enter. He places a hand on her back, and steers them down the hall, and she follows diligently. "Shall we go flying tomorrow? The man in the little box says it will be nice weather."

Sakura laughs. "I would like that," she tells him.

* * *

A/N: hehe, tell me what you think! Until the next time :)

Anbu-chan


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: New York was a blast! I am an extrovert by nature, so the constant flow of people and the beautiful locations gave me the inspiration to get this chapter out and done. Many, many thanks to: KateKat1992, LeonaMasha, Guest, LePengwen, A Lurking Guest, LoveandWinning, Guest, sbfumayam, and Silverfox579 for the wonderful reviews! Your comments bring me so much joy. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I do not own the MCU or Naruto.

* * *

"Cherry bomb!" Greets Tony Stark with a smile, a sleek looking Virginia Potts behind him, holding an envelope.

"Tony," she greets, looking up from her book. "Hi, Pepper," she says with a warm smile that gets returned readily. Tony looks more tired than she remembers him being. His eyes are dark and there is a frown on his face, but he wipes it away quickly when he sees her staring at him quizzically.

"We want you to come with us to California."

Sakura raises her eyebrow. "Why?"

Tony shrugs. "Summer is close to done, and the holidays will be here soon. We want you to spend it with us."

Sakura looks between the two of them and wonders, would she be intruding? She doesn't know Pepper all that well, besides the friendly greetings and quick conversations, but Sakura knows Tony and his soft spot for the kunoichi, and therefore knows Pepper's soft spot for Tony. She nodded briefly before saying, "We won't be staying here?"

"Ah, about that," says Tony. "Everyone has their own plans for the holidays so we won't be seeing everyone for a while. Plus, we're moving facilities eventually."

"Oh," Sakura says softly, understanding that the rules are different here. These people don't see what they've made as family, at least, maybe not yet. Back home, when you bleed together, you become part of one another and that is the closest thing to family many shinobi have. When there is no guarantee to life, no promises of coming home that can be kept, you somehow love more fiercely for it. She knows this, because each time she saw her family walk out the village gates and return weeks later, she felt her love grow for them. Love knows no boundaries. She knows because even after all their losses, her boys still love each other and love her. She wonders though, if her Avengers can see what they have, when there is nothing there to threaten it. Despite it, Tony welcomes her home with open arms and she can feel her heart skip a beat.

Instead of voicing this, Sakura says, "Ok, I would like that. I've never been to California."

Tony rolls his eyes. "Sakura. You're from a different dimension, of course you haven't been to California."

The woman with pink hair only giggles at the sarcasm laden words, and she heads to her room where she begins to pack up what little belongings she has with her.

* * *

The trip is not very long, but Sakura is fascinated by the landscapes they fly over. She's glued to the window, and can't hold back the gasps that leave her lips. They pass fields of green, miles of dry, red earth and huge lakes that reflect the sky like glass. When they land, Sakura is surprised how quickly the time seemed to have gone by her. She takes a glance at the modern look and size of the house. "This is your home?" She asks him, curious, and he nods.

"Come on, let's head inside."

Weeks pass as Sakura gets acquainted with the house. She lives in the same wing of the house as Pepper and Tony and begins to notice when Pepper sneaks into Tony's room, and the times when Tony isn't even in his own bedroom. It worries Sakura more than she would like to admit.

And that is how their days pass. Tony, in the basement of the house, tinkering away at something shiny that Sakura does not understand. Pepper, working each day. And Sakura, who had a better sense of anonymity in California, spends her days exploring the wilder parts of the state, only to return home in time for dinner. More often than not, it is Pepper who comes home, tired and weary to Sakura setting out dinner. She knows the two of them are busy, and that she is not integrated the way they are, but she hopes for all of them at the table. She is disappointed when only two of the three seats are filled, and one look at Pepper tells Sakura she shares the sentiment.

When it has become two months, and the house is filled with tension, there are more and more reports of unusual bombs and something called a Mandarin— although she's not sure what a fruit has to do with explosives—, Sakura has had enough. She marches down to the basement, and walks right up to Tony.

"Something the matter, buttercup?" Tony asks, when he sees Sakura's cocked hip and folded arms, a scowl on her face.

"Yes, in fact—!"

Her tirade stops when she sees suit after suit lined up, in various states of repair. "Is this what you've been doing down here?" She says finally.

Tony does not put down the tool he is using, but turns his body to face her. "We need this. A suit of armor around the world, I mean."

Sakura can see the deep bags forming under his eyes from the lack of sleep, and begins to understand. A strong man he might be, but he wasn't born and bred to be a killer. Not like her, especially not like other shinobi.

"Well. I'm no expert on that, but I can tell that you're too stressed right now. For good reasons, but you need a break: this project can rest for a few hours," she tells him, setting her hand down on his. It makes him stop his work in its tracks and look up at her. She softens her face, and says, "Let's have dinner. Pepper is very worried about you. All of us are." And it's true, because even Happy and James have noticed a difference.

Tony sighs and gets up, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "I suppose I have to now," he tells her, shaking his head and chuckling. "I can never say no to you."

Sakura shrugs, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and takes his hand to lead him upstairs, glad he complies. He squints at the sunlight and shades his eyes and Sakura grins, feeling warm at the picture he paints. "You belong in sunlight. It suits you," she tells him, honestly, because she has never told a lie, not since she faced death in strange forests and sheared her own hair.

Tony is quiet as he looks at her, gaze strangely watery, and he quickly turns his head the other way. But his hand, so much larger than hers but no more calloused, briefly wraps around hers before he lets go, and they walk to the table, the food and Pepper waiting for them.

* * *

A/N: and so, the next arc begins. what awaits us? I really don't know. Leave some love and tell me what you think!


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